Tabard 2's (7) vs Bishop's Stortford 4's (14)

Tabard 2’s (7) vs Bishops Stortford 4’s (14)

The 4’s were missing 2 or 3 key regulars this week through a mixture of injury and lack of availability which gave us a chance to welcome Dave Brunner, Graham Pearman and Tom Brady into the side against a revitalised Tabard 2’s.

The league has agreed to combine the Tabards 2’s with Barnet Elizabethan 2’s for the remainder of the season so there were some very familiar faces on show when the Chindits lined up for the kick off at yesterday’s game in Radlett.

During the pre-match talk we resolved to focus entirely on our game, back our defence and trust in our forwards to build a platform through phases of play before unleashing our rapid backs as we’ve been doing all season.

Sam Stockley got the game underway kicking the ball high into the swirling wind and the two packs collided squarely between the 10 and 22.

The first few minutes were a very scrappy affair with both sides trying to force the play. Tabards were clearly intent on using their backs (some of whom would normally be playing in the adjacent pitch for Tabard 1’s) with Stortford working hard to win the ball at the breakdown.

Neither the wind of the referee helped either side in these opening exchanges with both proving to be changeable and impossible to read for the full 80 minutes.

It was Tabards who got the first break around the 10 minute mark. After a scrappy ruck out wide the Chindits forwards re-joined the defensive line from the blind side leaving the defence stretched and the Tabards backs quickly put the ball through hands to crash over the line on the opposite side of the pitch.

The conversion was duly slotted putting them 7-0 up.

This early try rattled the 4’s but we were confident we could turn things around if we managed to get the forwards working effectively.

From the kick off Stortford turned the ball over and after some directing running from Jack FP, Dave Brunner and Paul Byrne the ball found its way into Chris Collings hands who weaved his way through the defence and plunged under the posts taking several opposition players with him.

This try came at the cost of some bruised ribs but the try and subsequent conversion gave the Chindits the lift they needed.

From the re-start Stortford were on the offensive again and this time Jake Brough picked up a loose ball and sprinted 40 metres stepping players as he went to score a great individual try in the corner.

The linesman signaled the try and the Tabard players were all commiserating with each other until the referee who was stood some distance away from the action decided that Jake had actually crossed the dead ball line before dotting the ball down.

This was met with some incredulous looks from both teams and the Chindits were awarded with a 5 metre scrum???????

Thankfully the Stortford pack had the upper hand in this area too and got a big shunt on and marching Tabards back over their own try line for Mark Brown to nip in ahead of Dave Walker and score our second try.

Sam Stockley was in his usual good form yesterday and slotted the additional two point to put Stortford 14-7 up at half time.

The half time talk was all about ball retention. The lack of continuity in the forwards in the first half had led to the backs kicking the ball for field position. This was consistently being gathered by the Tabards full back who would run it back with interest. In the second half we resolved to put that right by keeping the ball tight in the forwards.

Steve Drew made way for Brian Finch in the front row and Tom Brady came on as a straight replacement for Chris Collings.

The second half can only be described as a stalemate. There were some promising moments from Stu Thomas, Spencer Kersey, Brian Finch and Jake Brough all of whom made some strong breaks but Tabards were quick to the breakdown and the Chindits never really looked like scoring.

On the plus side neither did Tabards as the 4’s really pulled together and showed why we continue to have the best defence in the league.

Man of the match went to Dan Hunt who controlled things nicely at the back and took control in the latter stages of the game pinning Tabards deep in their own half with some great kicks into touch.

There were a couple of nominations for Dick of the day.

Dave Walker was definitely in the running for accidentally taking out the septuagenarian referee in open play leaving many wondering if he’d ever get up again.

There were also a number of panicky hospital passes the worst of which saw Paul Byrne leave the pitch after being clobbered in the face bravely gathering a looping high pass in the headlights of the on-rushing Tabards Defence.

The source of that pass and Dick of the day was Graham Pearman.

This was definitely the Chindits scrappiest performance of the season and although nobody was pleased with the way we played I couldn’t be more proud of guys for staying patient and coming from behind to seal an ugly win and takes the 5 points.

Another great result that keeps us clear at the top of HMMT Table 4.

Our next game is at Home to Watford on 13th February.

The full squad for yesterday was:
1. James Copper
2. Paul Byrne
3. Steve Drew
4. Rob Neal
5. Jack FP
6. Dave Brunner
7. Graham Pearman
8. Dave Walker
9. Mark Brown
10. Sam Stockley
11. Jake Brough
12. Stu Thomas
13. Chris Collings
14. Spencer Kersey
15. Dan Hunt
16. Tom Brady
17. Brian Finch